I just got a leo she has a heat pad but not a lamp do i need 2 get a lamp?

Question

i live in Houston so its fairly warm in the house and the temperature is 80 in her enclosure

Answer 1

i would reccomend a heat lamp knowing that it needs to be 80-90 degrees in a basking spot...i dont have a heating pad for my leopard gecko but i us 75 watt bulbs and i have a 2 1/2 foot cage high so......

Answer 2

Your Leo needs a warm and cool side of her tank, as well as a basking perch and light.  She needs heat for digestion.  Also, she needs to be able to move from a warm area to a cooler area, to regulate her body temperature and moisture needs.

You can't guess at this.  You'll need to invest in a good digital probe thermometer so that you can measure the temperature of the floor where the heat pad is, and also on the perch, under the basking light, as well as making sure there's enough cooldown on the other end of the tank.  Strip thermometers just are not accurate, and can be off up to twenty degrees.

It's pretty tough to provide a cool and warm side in a 10 gal. reptile tank, so you might want to consider just getting a 20 gal. long reptile tank and letting her grow into the space.

If she's a hatchling, then you will want to move her to a smaller tank for feeding, so her crickets can't run away from her and hide.  

She will need a bowl of Calcium in her tank at all times, and her crickets will need to be dusted with a good reptile vitamin powder (keep this refrigerated).  How often depends on age, and you didn't mention how old the Leo is.

I'll post a basic recipe here  for gut loading, and also post some sites so you can get busy doing the research which should have been done before the animal was purchased.

But, please note my disclaimer: --Though these sites list the use of play/repti sand, I STRONGLY DISAGREE with this.  The number one killer of Leos is impaction by sand or a loose substrate, which leads to costly vet bills, and even death.  Consult your reptile veterinarian for their opinion.--

GUT LOADING CRICKETS for REPTILES:

The number one problem:

Dried up and malnourished pet store crickets and mealworms. These food items are essentially useless. A dehydrated and unfed cricket contains almost no nutrients at all; refrigerated mealworms are even worse. A lot of the variety in nutrients found in wild insects is actually in the stomach content - usually plant material. We need to duplicate this to provide the best for our reptiles; without the risk of illness/disease/parasites which can result from feeding our pets wild insects.

Please note that wax worms, while fattening, are not nutritious.  Young geckos can eat small silk and phoenix worms, as well.

Basic Dry/Staple Cricket Food:

Equal amounts of dry Iguana food, dry dog food, chick starter mash, oatmeal (you can add dry baby food wheat/rye/barley, etc. as well; even shredded wheat - no sugar).

Grind these items together.  Place in a small lid/bowl for the crickets to eat.  Store the unused portion in the refrigerator or freezer, until needed.

Supplement daily with one of the following: sweet potato, bananas, zucchini, oranges, carrots, strawberries, assorted squashes (acorn, yellow, etc.), grapefruit, green beans, apples, kale, spinach, cactus pads, and just about any other nutritious item you can think of (do not use white/yellow potatoes - these are starchy and only good if used as a moisture source during shipping, and NEVER use Avocado - it's poisonous to most animals).

Provide the dry food and kale at all times (kale is readily available during the winter months, too), rotating the other food items through in succession. The key is variety, and to provide an assortment of varying nutrients. What you are trying to do is offer your reptiles crickets with guts 'loaded' with fresh foodstuffs.

The crickets should be gut loaded for 1-2 days prior to offering them to your reptiles.

Also, provide fresh clean water in a lid/bowl, adding a sponge or folded paper towel to prevent drowning.

  

Don't offer more crickets than the reptile(s) will consume within: 1.) a few hours if it’s a lizard, salamander, frog/toad, or 2.) a few minutes, if it’s a water turtle, so you know the crickets will still be full of the good stuff when eaten.

The crickets should be dusted (shaken in a plastic bag gently to coat them) with vitamins (keep these refrigerated) and calcium D3 powder 2-4 times a week, depending on the age of the reptile.

Be sure to remove any uneaten crickets so that they do not soil your pet's environment/water or bother your pet, once it is full.  Crickets CAN turn the table - and feast upon your pet! Or aggravate them, causing stress and even cessation of eating.

Also be sure the crickets are the correct size for the reptile.  The cricket should be the same size long as the reptile’s head is wide.

Congratulations on choosing a Leo as your pet, and most important - enjoy!

I hope this has been helpful.

Answer 3

i would recommend it but it is no a nessecisty.

Answer 4

You might want a basking spot no you need one